In other news, I'm listening to the book-on-tape of "Isaac's Storm," by Erik Larson. It's the story of the nasty hurricane that hit Galveston, Texas in 1900. I had no idea that Galveston used to be such a happening place before it was trashed by a tropical cyclone. (Not that it isn't happening now, of course, cuz how would I know?) Last night's dreams were of heavy and terrifying winds. When I woke up, they were still there... Just checked the weather and found there's a wind advisory for my county until midnight. Coincidence? Fortunately I will be safe with friends eating cheese. Slainte!

I have been having a hard time trying to explain to a loved one the difference between Jeremy Piven and Jon Favreau. I think I would summarize by saying that Jon Favreau is the clever one and Jeremy Piven is the funny one. Some confusion arises because Favreau can also be funny (he did direct Elf, after all). And it's possible that Jeremy Piven is also clever, although I have no evidence yet. Further confusion seems to stem from the fact that both J's have largish heads and have been in movies with Vince Vaughn, and so might appear slightly interchangeable. Recently I found out these dudes have done plenty of TV work, too--Favreau is on some show he invented called "Dinner for Five," and Piven is in "Entourage." (He also appears to be working out, which makes him seem less charmingly dorky.) I have only recently seen the tiniest bit of each of these shows. My biggest impression was that Stacy Peralta should come to MY dinner for five, not one with Seth Macfarlane.

Someone gave me a figurine of a cat with its paw up in the air. I have discovered it is called Maneki Neko. It is a Japanese good luck totem known around the world. I know I have seen them in shops and restaurants before and am glad to know the little creature's name now that one lives in my house. This one seems especially lucky because it is also a type of piggy bank--it has a slot for coins in the back of its neck. Also, unlike some piggy banks, it has a rubber plug at the bottom for retrieving the coins. However it doesn't seem lucky to retrieve and spend used Maneki Neko coins. I guess if the cat gets full I should have a ceremonial dispersal of the coins. Maybe in a fountain somewhere so the luck can carry on?

Looking at the site linked to above reminds me of a New Yorker article about Hayao Miyazaki that mentioned Anpanman, a superhero who is a bean paste bun. Anpanman makes me LAUGH and it feels gooood.